We are excited to present to you a guest blog written by author, Piper Maitland, about her main character from ‘Acquainted With the Night.’ – an epic story about immortality and the fate of mankin. There are very frightening vampires and very sexy characters. Read more below to find out what her book is about.

Contest!We are also giving away ONE copy of her book. TO ENTER:Â Leave a comment with your e-mail/twitter/facebook or any way we can contact you if you are picked as the winner! Contest ends Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011.

Without further ado, please enjoy Piper Maitland’s blog.

Caro Clifford: the Flawed Heroine

Grey isnâ€™t a color you will ever see in Greek Orthodox artâ€”medieval artists lived and worked in a black-and-white world. But shades of grey are vital when it comes to building a modern fictional heroine. When I began writing Acquainted With the Night, I wanted Caro Grimaldi Clifford to be a fundamentally flawed heroine. She doesnâ€™t always say the right thing, nor does she always act heroically. I knew it would be risky, but I was tired of playing it safe with my characters. As Caro came to life, her personality traits became layered, with room for her character to grow in the second book.

Hammer Films had a huge influence on me as a child. They encouraged my love for film and particularly my love for horror. Once upon a time, for the whole month of October, AMC had “Monster Fest”. I looked forward to this every year. AMC would show all of the old classics, and many of these movies were the beautiful Hammer Films. They were gothic, macabre, eerie, erotic, and atmospheric. They were everything the imagination craved, yet feared.

One of my particular favorites.

I do have my favorites, but I feel that for my “Halloween Flicks” list, it wouldn’t be right to leave out any Hammer Film. So, I’ve decided to celebrate and gush about all of them. Yes, there are the great ones and the not so great ones, but even the films that fall into the latter category have their worth and are much better than most of the horror movies that are released today.

At one point during Comic Con I walked by a table that had dozens upon dozens of postcards on it advertising different comics, movies, and TV shows. I glanced over all of them and then came across one that stood out. It said, “N Y P DÂ M. It takes a monster to catch one.”

I was intrigued. I took a postcard and looked up the official website. The more I found out about NYPDM, the more I interested I became. Come on, it’s a crime drama show with supernatural elements. Considering that I’m addicted to Law & OrderÂ andÂ Supernatural, a show like this is right up my alley.

From the official Press Release:

“NYPDM is a new web series that revolves around an unusual unit of NYC police detectives who possess a unique connection to a dark underworld where monsters are real. Taking an ‘it takes one to know one’ approach, Lt. Spiller heads a special group of cops who have much in common with the monstrous suspects they pursue with one key difference: they’re the good guys.”

Awesome, right? Something that made me look forward to this show is that based from the trailer, it looks gritty and mysterious. I think something that has been missing lately from the supernatural genre is a gritty crime drama and after watching the first two episodesÂ Â I can honestly say that NYPDMÂ fills this gap and made me thankful that I saw their postcard at Comic Con.

Once upon a time, vampires were cool. For years, vampires were vicious, malevolent, cruel, and manipulative soulless creatures with fangs. They didn’t want us to be their soul mates, they wanted us to be dinnerÂ and that’s why we loved them. This depiction, which in many cultures dates back to the Pre-Christian era, is being threatened.

The classic vampire, Nosferatu.

Ever since Twilight, the depiction of this once brutal monster has been radically altered. Now, vampires are sensitive, they hate killing, they have PMS, they want girlfriends, they’re celibate, and they sparkle. They fucking sparkle.

Everyday more television shows and books are produced showing vampires in this light (and not burning to a crisp). You, the fan of the traditional vampire, may be telling yourself, “I’m only one person, there’s nothing I can do to make a difference.” I’m here to tell you that there is something you can do. You can help stop this unjust treatment of the once badass bloodthirsty creature.

Remakes have become the bane of movie enthusiasts, particularly with horror movies. I’m not entirely against the idea, except remakes are (usually) poorly executed and only done for the sake of getting the studio a little extra cash without having to worry about such things as, oh, creativity and originality.

The poster for the original Fright Night

There have been so many remakes of iconic horror movies that have been lackluster or simply awful. The reason why earlier I said I’m not entirely against the idea is because if a remake of a story were taken seriously, it could be an interesting and creative new take that adds a new layer. Unfortunately, the trend is to just make a carbon copy or a dumbed down version of the original that make the fans and anyone with an IQ want to stab their eyes out. Over the past so many years it seems that we have been flooded with these remakes. Â Off of the top of my head the worst ones that come to mind are Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine, The Hitcher, The Wicker Man, and The Fog.

There are exceptions to this, of course. Dawn of the Dead, The Last House on the Left, The Ring, and one of the most terrifying movies ever, John Carpenter’s The Thing, are exceptional remakes. It’s sad that the ratio of good to awful remakes is so vast because whenever I hear of yet another movie being remade my immediate reaction is that of frustration and grief.

When I discovered that Fright Night, one of my favorite vampire movies ever was being remade, I was mortified. I knew that the need for this remake was because of the recent vampire craze thanks to a certain sparkly d-bag, so on top of everything else I was immediately resentful. Fright Night is not only scary, it’s funny, sexy, and has the wonderful Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent, actor turned vampire killer. I didn’t want this great vampire movie getting a “Twilight” treatment. As time went on I kept tabs on the project, fearing the worst.